Embodied Resonances: Early Modern Science and Tropologies of Connection in Donne’s Anniversaries

Abstract

We argue in this essay that the phenomenon of resonance structures the formal and metaphoric coherence of John Donne’s Anniversaries , underpinning the poems’ allusions to magnetism, the doctrine of signatures, atomism, and Paracelsian theory. Linking analogy and metonymy through resonance allows Donne to engage emergent scientific discovery, the epistemological upheaval of the early seventeenth century, and the extra-linguistic dimensions of language. We explore the workings of this concept as a musical, scientific, and passional principle of cosmic cohesion; through his verse Donne seeks to harness resonance as a vital force of magnetic and emotional connection.